Mini Quilt

COLOR........COLOR........COLOR...........that is what I was aiming for in this mini house quilt. I really think I accomplished that don't you!! I soooo wanted to use some of my new Kaffee fabric and I found some perfect pieces to go together.

I sooooo loved this piece....but....it too was sent off as a gift. I surprised my friend Gail (no blog) with this little 'thank you'. She has been so generous to me in this last year, sending all kinds of fabrics/books and quilting magazines she wanted to pass along as she sorts and cleans out her sewing 'pit'.

How cheery is this with all these snowy/icy/dreary cloudy days we have been having! Gail lives in Michigan and think maybe she had to pull out the ole sunglasses when this arrived...HA!

I don't know if you can see (click photo to enlarge)....but I used a blue thread to hand quilt this.

This was my first try at Baptist fan hand quilting.....hhhhmmm....the jury is still out on how I feel about them......I like the look, but doing the actually quilting.....well, I think I need to talk to you Tonya about how you do yours!

A little Kaffee scrap strip for the back.........and we're all done. I.LIKE. Hope you do too Gail!!

This little mini quilt measures around 14" x 19".

Ticker Tape

Did any of you see this cool way to use up some of those little scraps.....LOL.....the kind I can't seem to part with!! Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts blog first showed this little project as a doll quilt. I wanted to try it out...and it seemed so easy.....I opted to make some place mats....easy peasy!

Just gather up......dump out......or go through your little scraps. Have fun playing and placing them like puzzle pieces! I made these mats about 16" x 12".

Something I did different than Amanda Jean was go ahead and place all my scraps out at once and pin down with a straight pin.......easy peasy.......these place mats are already sandwiched with batting and a backing! Isn't that neat? They will be finished and ready for binding when you get all your scrap pieces sewn on. LOVE THIS!

I did use my walking foot to sew them down.....afterall.....it's already a mini quilt.

I sewed the scraps down using a good 1/4"+ seam allowance......will cut down on them ravelling out when they are washed.

So here is how they look from the back......cute AND so easy peasy! I have made several of these for gifts. When we were invited out for Thanksgiving dinner I took some to my hostess using red and white polka dot binding and apple fabric on the backing. I sent these to my friend Gail in Michigan.......hope you are enjoying yours Gail!!!

GOOBER update: he has found his tail and has been going around in circles all morning!

Catching Up....Part 2

OK....I promised to show you more of what I worked on during my time off. This little project all started with a wonderful vintage tea towel.

Yes....do you remember this?? I adore the large criss cross stitching!!! I was looking at it closely one day and I wondered if I might be able to do a pattern and maybe free piece the teapot...hhhmmmm...let's see if I can give it a go!!

So, I got out pencil and paper and drew out the design...using lines where I might cut and sew and drawing out shapes to sort of 'jury' what type of fabric to use where...with a little color too. The numbers you see there on the handle I put trying to help myself know what pieces to maybe sew first. The little round circles represent polka dots.....yes, I had someone in mind who LOVES polka dots!

After numerous rip outs and re-placements of the different fabrics I finally had the center to my mini quilt started. Now I just had to figure out what would come next!

I finally decided on a mixture of tiny squares.....once again....since I didn't have a pattern for my project and I was just 'winging it'....figuring out the dimensions for the size of the tiny squares might pose a problem.....I figured and figured and measured and allowed for ALL those seam allowances and it came out perfect!! YEAH!!

.........VIOLA....!!! The final product!! Of course I knew the whole time I was creating and sewing on this I would most definitely HAND quilt it!!! I love it!!!

A close up of the hand quilting and the scalloped edges. I had never done a scallop edge before, but I think it sure makes it look 'prissy-er' with it!

I had a few scraps and pieces left over and used them to finish up the back. My label I tried to camouflage.....it's in the bottom right hand corner.